Well,
My favorite thing growing up was to help with the "Hog Killings". I would stay home from school sick so I could help. Never got caught because I always felt better after the bus left. Everybody was too busy to worry about if I was really sick or not. I will try to educate all of you on this GREAT tasting southern treat. There are numerous names for the Dan Doodle, Summer Sausage, or Tom Thumb. It is made from the large intestine and stuffed with the same stuffing you stuff sausage with. You grind pork and season it with:
Sage, Coriander, Thyme, Summer Savory, Sweet Marjoram, Pulverized Bay Leaf or Ground Pepper or Red Pepper.

Each person that made sausage seasoned differently. There is no particular formula. This goes for making the meat mixture that goes into sausage. For those that liked a lean sausage there was no mixture of fat only the leaner pork was ground. You actually cut the meat into small pieces prior to grinding it. The ground meat was put into a large pan and the seasoning was sprinkled in then mixed by hand until you thought it was mixed thoroughly. Some will take a small amount and fry it and see if they have enough seasoning in it.

The Intestines were prepared by turning them inside out and washing the inside thoroughly. That was a chore many did not like because it took a long time and smelled until they were clean. You had an adapter that fit over the end of a the special attachment that went with the grinder. You then stuffed your sausage. You needed to twist it every 3-4 inches. Not everyone did though. You made up each length of intestine about the same way. In later years there was a type of thin material used to stuff sausage in and none of the hard work was needed. (Sausage was almost as good when this was used.)

The Tomb Thumb, Tommie doodle, Tom Dandy etc. was made as Janie said out of the end of the large intestine. After the sausage and Tom Thumbs were made they were hung to dry in the smoke house. To have a very lean sausage you let it dry and the fat dripped out. After this process you used a hickory, peach, or pecan wood to smoke it for 1-1 1/2 hour. This gave them a great taste and I always felt make them taste fresh longer.

Hot to cook a Tom Thumb:

You place your Tom Thumb into a large pot. Put enough water in it to cover it. Bring it to a boil and boil at a low temperature for about an hour. (If you rapidly boil it you will cause it to pop open.) You put Cabbage and potatoes into it and cook them until they are done. A favorite of mine is mixed greens and potatoes. Deviled eggs were also served around the meat that had been sliced.

Fried Tom Thumb:

Slice the Tom Thumb and fry as if it were a sausage patty for breakfast.

Hope this helps. My mother still has a smoke house and I still will smoke sausage during the cold weather. Actually did 3 in my smoker a few years ago that did great!!!!